book

Added Privacy's Defender to Read Books

Wants to read Slow Horses

Rated Swing Time 8/10

There's so much going on in this story it's hard to do it all justice - it starts with the treacherously close friendship of two biracial girls growing up in London and spirals out into the wider world, taking in Parliament, the Gambia, and pop stardom even as the memory of their friendship has a gravitational pull over the whole story. Really well-done in terms of rich characters, pacing, emotional depth, political insight and vivid detail; there's maybe 10% too much plot but it still all hangs together well. Highly recommend!

Rated Time Shelter 8/10

Rated Normal People 8/10

Finished reading Het Dossier

Wants to read The Hobgoblin Riot

Wants to read Anything You Want

Rated Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War 8/10

Very Mary Roach-y, which I mean as a compliment; her writing is very clever and her curiosity is contagious. As she notes in the preface, this is very much not about the science of weapons, but rather a series of essays on how scientists attempt to keep the troops clothed, fed and healthy in both normal and dire circumstances. There are poignant moments and funny ones, but the former are somewhat underplayed relative to the latter given the weight of the subject matter. Not my favorite of her books but a good, quick and thoughtful read.

Added Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) to Want to Read

Rated Yes Please 6/10

Rated A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking 8/10

Wants to read The Master and Margarita

Finished reading Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory

Reading Rise of the Lycanthrope

Rated Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West 10/10

Test review

Finished reading Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Wants to read Aching God

Wants to read Pretty Monsters: Stories

Reading Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt

Rated Gone Girl 6/10

I very much understand what the big deal is about this book and also very very much understand why it bothers so many people. It is very compelling and clever and well-built; there is a twist about halfway through that I sort of saw ahead of time, and then some counter-twists that I did not expect. I can kind of recommend it if you like that sort of thing, but....<br/><br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS <br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>...it hinges on two unpleasant archetypes of women. One, which is directly critiqued, is "Cool Girl," who is down for whatever and never asks for anything and defies "girliness." The other, which is not really critiqued, is "Jealous Vindictive Crazy Girl Who Lies to Punish People," which is presented waaaay too earnestly. There's a sourness about the whole book that makes it much less fun to read than it should be, even as you really want to find out how all the pieces fit together. <br/>

Wants to read Capital in the Twenty First Century

Reading They Stole a City: Wilmington's White Supremacist Coup and the Families Who Live with Its Legacy

Rated The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet 8/10

Wants to read How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself: A Timeless Activity Guide to Self-Reliant Play and Joyful Solitude